Woman Crush Wednesday: Shannon Woodward Is Out Of This World

It’s Wednesday, y’all! We’re exactly halfway through the week, which means we’re so close to the weekend, which means the next episode of Westworld is almost here! The sci-fi/western mind trip is proving to be one of the most interesting shows of the fall, and really, all of 2016. The robots and the real people and the interactions between them are creating a world and a show that is captivating audiences more and more with every new discovery.
As part of that cast, Shannon Woodward can’t help but stand out. Her character, Elsie, is a total smartypants who must figure out why the hosts, or artificial intelligence characters, are displaying some super weird behavior. The one good thing about the hosts causing more trouble is that Shannon will be there to fix it — and something tells us she’s going to be quite busy for the rest of this season.

WHO’S THAT GAL: Shannon Woodward
WHY WE’RE CRUSHING: Some people might know Shannon as Katy Perry’s IRL BFF, and we have a general policy that any friend of Katy’s is a friend of ours. But there’s so much more to her than her pals (although we do love seeing their pics on Instagram). While Shannon is a natural fit in comedies, it’s nice to see her as part of the hit drama this year. It’s a great indicator that she’s got a huge career ahead of her that only continues to grow while affording Shannon interesting roles. She’s been a part of a beloved sitcom, and now with this huge HBO show, she’s still a fresh face for many viewers. Well, get used to looking at it, everyone. Whether she’s a sweet girl next door type or an emotionally complex badass, it’s always great to see her pop up on-screen.

WHERE YOU’VE SEEN HER BEFORE: In quite the fun fact, it should be noted that Shannon’s first credit is three episodes of Clarissa Explains It All — what a way to kick off a successful career! She then popped up in shows such as Malcolm in the Middle, Grounded for Life, Boston Public, and Psych, before landing on two seasons of FX’s The Riches with Eddie Izzard and Minnie Driver. Shannon went on to star in the thriller The Haunting of Molly Hartley in 2008, as well as a role in the sweet, underrated indie film Adult World with Evan Peters and Emma Roberts. Shannon spent four seasons as Sabrina on the charming comedy Raising Hope, before landing on Westworld as Elsie, a woman from the future we believe is a human, tasked with keeping the robots on track.

WHERE YOU’LL SEE HER NEXT: Currently, Shannon’s got The Runaround, a film with J.K. Simmons and Analeigh Tipton in post-production. But right now we’re counting down the minutes until the fifth episode of Westworld to air this weekend on HBO, and rumor has it that it’s a bit of a doozy. It marks the halfway point for season 1 of the show that’s keeping everyone on their toes, and we can’t wait to see what’s still in store for Elsie and the ‘bots.
[Watch Westworld on HBO Go]